Seahawk Boys Post Combine Mock Draft

USC QB Mark Sanchez - The Seahawks pick at #4?

1. Detroit Lions - Matt Stafford – QB – Georgia - Lions must start over completely. Stafford is the first building block.

2. St. Louis Rams - Aaron Curry – ILB – Wake Forest - Rams need a tackle too but Curry is the consensus #1 at this point and Spagnulo is a defensive minded coach. Could be the next Ray Lewis.

3. Kansas City Chiefs – Michael Crabtree – WR – Texas Tech - With Matt Cassel in the fold and Curry off the board the Chiefs will resist the temptation to go with the safe pick and roll the dice on Crabtree. Adding him to a skill set that includes Dwayne Bowe, Larry Johnson, Cassel and Tony Gonzalez might mean the playoffs for the long suffering Chiefs.

4. Seattle Seahawks – Mark Sanchez – QB – USC – The Seahawks are stuck in no man’s land with this pick. None of the guys who merit being taken this pick would help the Seahawks all that much this year, so if they have to reach they may as well go for the franchise QB. Risk-averse GM Tim “Timmay!” Ruskell will likely go with a safe pick instead (i.e. one of the offensive tackles), but they must not delude themselves. Injuries on the OL and at wide receiver masked the fact that QB Matt Hasselbeck’s play was deteriorating even before the chronic bulging disk in his back forced him to miss nine games. Sanchez is a smart, cerebral player who understands defenses and has all the physical tools to excel at QB in the NFL. The Seahawks can afford to let him sit and learn the pro game behind Hasselbeck and Seneca Wallace for a year or two, and it is a rare thing to get a chance to take a QB with Sanchez’ talents while you’ve still got a serviceable starter. The only real downside is a bad haircut.

5. Cleveland Browns - Everette Brown – DE – Florida State – Browns were miserable at rushing the passer last year and defensive minded coach Eric Mangini will love what Brown brings to the chase. Brown is big, fast and cut, much in the mold of Jevon Kearse.

6. Cincinnati Bengals – Jason Smith – OT – Baylor – Bengals will face a tough choice here between Smith and BJ Raji. They could use help on both lines but Smith would really solidify their pass protection problems.

7. Oakland Faiders - Jeremy Maclin – WR – Missouri – Count Chocula always tries to make a splash with his 1st round pick, and Maclin could help make the inaccurate JaMarcus Russell look better by breaking some long runs after the catch. Assuming of course that the ball is anywhere near him.

8. Jacksonville Jaguars - Eugene Monroe – OT – Virginia – Jags need interior OL help more, but no OG is worth this pick and with the team likely losing LT Khalif Barnes in free agency, this pick is obvious. Monroe is a prototype LT and could stabilize the line immediately.

9. Green Bay Packers - B.J. Raji – DT – Boston College – The Packers need to shore up the defense and Raji will replace and upgrade the position after the loss of Colin Cole, who signed with the Seahawks.

10. San Francisco 49’ers – Brian Orakpo – DE – Texas – The 49’ers need a pass rushing end or rush LB, and Orakpo can do the job. At 263, he’s bigger than most of the rush ends in the draft and will also be solid against the run.

11. Buffalo Bills – Tyson Jackson – DE\OLB – LSU – The Bills need LB’s and DE’s, and Jackson is big and strong and can even swing inside some to 3-technique tackle.

12. Denver Broncos – Rey Maualuga – ILB – USC – After spending the free agency period on the offense, it’s time to fix the defense. The Broncos need to get stronger in the middle and Peria Jerry would fit here too, but the franchise Mike is harder to find.

13. Washington Redskins - Michael Oher – OT – Mississippi – Oher’s slide finally stops. The Redskins get a bargain and can play Oher at RT or LG for a year or so until Chris Samuels moves on.

14. New Orleans Saints - Aaron Maybin – DE\LB – Penn State – The Saints need to add some talent around MLB Jonathon Vilma, and Maybin is a hybrid DE\OLB type who is athletic enough to make an impact outside.

15. Houston Texans - Brian Cushing – OLB – USC – Texans need some rush help for Mario Williams and somebody to stand up and help Demeco Ryans. Cushing’s great versatility gives them both.

16. San Diego Chargers - Knowshon Moreno – RB – Georgia – With the franchise tag on Darren Sproles and a contract dispute with LT, maybe the best thing is just for the Chargers to draft Moreno and move on.

17. New York Jets - James Laurinaitis – ILB – Ohio State – Jets obviously need a QB but there is no value here. Laurinaitis gives them a solid inside presence to help David Harris. Now if only Vernon Gholston could get on the field.

18. Chicago Bears - Andre Smith – OT – Alabama - After last years disaster with 1st round pick Chris Williams, Smith seems like a risk but he could either play LT in John Tait’s stead of even move inside to OG.

19. Tampa Bay Buccaneers – Vontae Davis - CB - Illinois - After gutting their roster in the offseason the Bucs could go in a number of directions, but since they are scraping the Tampa-2 they need to get more athletic on defense and Davis is a terrific athlete.

20. Detroit Lions - Clay Matthews – OLB – USC – Lions obviously need help everywhere, but Matthews fills a need next to WLB Ernie Sims.

21. Philadelphia Eagles - Darrius Heyward-Bey – WR – Maryland – Eagles need more weapons for Donovan McNabb, and DHB gives him a big target opposite DeSean Jackson.

22. Minnesota Vikings - Peria Jerry – DT – Mississippi – Jerry just gives the Vikings more of what they already have, but Pat Williams isn’t getting any younger and Jerry is the best player left on the board.

23. New England Patriots - Malcolm Jenkins – CB – Ohio State – Smart, instinctive player who will help the Pats in the defensive backfield for years.

24. Atlanta Falcons - Michael Johnson – DE – Georgia Tech – Gives the Falcons a better pass rush.

25. Miami Dolphins - Percy Harvin – WR – Florida – What a difference a year makes. Instead of picking 1st overall the they are at the bottom of round one. Harvin gives the ‘Phins the same threat on the outside that Chris Chambers used to.

26. Baltimore Ravens - Darius Butler – CB – Connecticut – Ravens need to get younger all over their defense.

27. Indianapolis Colts - Evander Hood – DT – Missouri – Colts need DT’s badly.

28. Philadelphia Eagles - Brandon Pettigrew – TE - Oklahoma State – Eagles are giving up on L.J. Smith and Brent Celek isn’t the answer. Spending 2 1st rounders on skill positions will make McNabb happy for a change.

29. New York Giants - Hakeem Nicks – WR – North Carolina – Giants desperately need a big WR who can create space for their running game. At least one who won't shoot himself in the foot.

Literally.

30. Tennessee Titans – Alex Mack – C – Cal - Signing Kelly Washington and Javon Haye makes this a luxury pick for the Titans. Mack can start if Kevin Mawae is done and play G if he’s not.

31. Arizona Cardinals – Chris Wells – RB Ohio State - Great passing game masked a myriad of sins for the Cards during their Super Bowl run. Adding to the defense would seem to be the top priority but Wells is just too good a value at this point and fills a need.

32. Pittsburgh Stealers - Eben Britton– OT – Arizona– Stealers need to get help everywhere on the OL.

Seahawks Mock Picks in Other Rounds

2 – 37 - William Beatty – OT – Connecticut – Seahawks could use a big, athletic tackle like Beatty to replace Walter Jones in a year or two.

3 – 68 - Michael Hamlin – SS – Clemson – Seahawks need a big DB to solidify the secondary.

4 – 101 - Deon Butler – WR – Penn State – Despite signing T-Ho, the Seahawks could use a set of young fresh legs to catch passes. Butler is the top receiver in Nitany Lions history.

5 – No Pick

6 – 165 - Patrick Turner – WR – USC – Huge (6’5”) fast (4.65) receiver who will have to make his name on special teams to start with. Just too much upside to pass up with a pick this late.

7 – 196 - Phillip Hunt – DE – Houston – Pass rushing specialist who could give the Seahawks some edge pressure if he can adapt to the pro game.

MB - 3/7/2009